Let me talk a bit about gluten-free flours…as the name says they are without the gluten that gives dough or pastry its elasticity, therefore pie crusts such as I made recently for my Rainier Cherry Galette or for these biscuits, have a “shortbread” quality. The finished crust or biscuits will be more tender and crumbly than when made with regular flour. Just keep this in mind when working with a product such as this one…handle a bit more gently and the results will be amazing.

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I adore the taste of pumpkin in all it’s transformations into pies, breads, roasted, toasted & baked. Pumpkins conjure up images of bonfires & baking, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” & a lifetime of Jack O’Lanterns.

Sunday morning at the Nashville Downtown Farmer’s Market I found myself in the midst of thousands of pumpkins, winter squash & gourds of every color tone, size & shape…from perfectly perfect to the fantastically gnarly…spread out & piled high, all beautiful. I purchased what is marketed as a “pie pumpkin”, about 2 lbs, for $1.00.

I went to my current favorite cookbook , “Tender/Vol 1” by Nigel Slater (4th Estate London, publisher), which is full of some of the best, most accessible recipes & cozy meanderings throughout his garden life. The photos are so yummy and real. I found a very simple, intriguing recipe entitled “A pumpkin pangrattato with rosemary and orange”.

Pangrattato is Italian for breadcrumbs

My version of this recipe comes with a few changes due to using what I had on hand which did not include parsley and did include a couple of fresh pears picked from my neighbors tree which is still heavy with fruit. Pumpkin, crispy pears, breadcrumbs..a very nice trio.

“A Smashing Pumpkin Pangrattato”

(very much based on Nigel Slater’s version with a few changes & additions)

7. The goal here to create the perfect “pangrattato/breadcrumbs” is to turn the soft breadcrumbs into beautiful golden brown crispy breadcrumbs without burning them. So leave on medium heat stirring often until ingredients are browned & crispy throughout. This might take about 10 minutes.Remove from heat

9. Lastly scatter top of pumpkin-pears with a few pieces of Kerrygold butter. Sprinkle pangrattato/breadcrumbs over top evenly. Drizzle with a bit more of the olive oil & bake for about 30-40 minutes. Top will be very golden brown & the pumpkin & pears will be softened but still holding their shape.

10. This dish can be eaten as a main course or side dish, but for our dinner I cooked up some Quinoa pasta & tossed it with a few tablespoons of olive oil & black pepper & salt. The serving of pasta was then topped with Pumpkin Pangrattato, a few shreds of freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano along side a glass of slightly chilled Pinot Noir which was one perfect Sunday dinner for a warm October evening in Nashville.

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Do food blogs have to be recipe driven? While sipping my “Honeycomb Cocktail” my mind was wandering…..that is what a Honeycomb Cocktail will do to you….

It does seem that a good, simple recipe can wow the most jaded of audiences. A beautiful photo of that recipe certainly gilds the lily. But there are many times, when the recipes I am cooking & the cocktails I am conjuring up belong to someone else & what I am cooking is not for me, but for a cookbook, a restaurant menu, a magazine article or ad. While I do love my work it definitely slows down my home kitchen output. But while I am on a shoot I always keep my camera handy. Wonderful imagery abounds in ways obvious or obscure having to do with food. These images often are what inspire me to cook up a new recipe, look at an old recipe differently, see food more scientifically and humorously. Here are some recent encounters of the food kind, not so recipe driven.

P.S. Don’t miss the recipe after the photos that got this idea percolating...”Honeycomb Cocktail for Fall Musings”

Pie on paperTen til Five.....beautiful stainless steel everywhereNot to be confused with any other breader.Chicago, on a shoot, view out my hotel window.An image styled.........part of same image "un-styled".Dried up pears from a tree in my neighborhood...on ground since last fall.Bread Box with inspirational sayings on restaurant table.Lots of Big Spoons.Lots of Big Ladles.Fresh green peas ready to be shot.Red Stripes.Chef's coats"fun" written in chocolate syrupSome folks still make real flour sacksKitchen in an abandoned houseChayote was the subjectOld recipe box for home economic studentsEgg & Whisk

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My favorite four letter “f” word in late August is “Figs”. Finally we have some figs to play with. I have been watching the trees in the neighborhood, snooping around the farmer’s markets, just waiting, thinking on simple recipes using tree ripened figs.

“Brown Turkey Figs”

Sitting with a group of food friends the other day we started talking about foods we really were not aware of when we were younger, foods that we now know and love. For most of us Southerners it seems fresh figs just didn’t make it onto our radars until adulthood. I am not sure why. Fig trees thrive around here so it seems that figs would have been a summer staple just like peaches & late summer pears. I think I will do a bit of research to figure out why I never ate fresh figs as a child. As an adult I relish the arrival of this little, lush four-letter word.

“Fresh Figs-Pine Nuts Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake”

The corn meal gives it a bit of a crunch as do the pine nuts. The caramelized fig topping drizzled with maple syrup is luscious.

2. Wash & dry figs. Cut each one in half lengthwise. Place cut-side down in skillet in a circular pattern. Sprinkle toasted pine nuts over figs. Turn heat to low allowing the figs to caramelize somewhat for about 5-8 minutes.

4. Pour/scrape batter into the hot skillet with the figs on top of the stove. Transfer skillet to the pre-heated oven. Bake for about 20-30 minutes until cake is golden brown and set in the middle. Remove skillet from oven and let rest for about 5 minutes.

5. Place a plate over the top of the skillet and “flip” plate & skillet upside-down. Scrape any caramel left in the pan over the top of the cake. While cake is still hot drizzle generously with real maple syrup. Cool cake for at least 10 minutes before cutting. Serve slices with additional maple syrup on side if desired.

Bonus Recipe: “Figgy Pancakes”

Ingredients: Same as for the cake recipe with a few extra figs quartered.

It was morning when I was baking the cake and had a bit of batter left over after filling the skillet. While the cake was baking I whipped up some pancakes for breakfast!

Directions: 1. Heat some butter in a small non-stick pan or griddle over high heat. Add a few quartered figs.

2. Pour in batter. When batter is set on bottom and bubbly on top flip pancake and finish cooking til golden brown.

3. Serve immediately with real maple syrup. This was one good pancake recipe!